Author's Note: Time to find out why Keefe's acting weird! Yay! Also, next time I update will probably be in like a week. I'm on spring break, and I'm going to Tennessee. Very exciting. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and leave a review!

She likes me. She likes me. I can't believe it. Sophie actually likes me.

I don't really know what happened. I kissed her, and then she kissed me back. Then the man walked in, checking for intruders. He was probably embarrassed to see two random teenagers making out, and left. It was the only possible reason we would be alone in a closet. And then. . .

She didn't let go. No, she pulled me closer. She tangled her fingers in my hair and I didn't resist and we kept kissing. On and on and on, until I felt like I was melting and I wasn't sure which of our emotions I was feeling because they were so strong and powerful and she was so close. I'd seen someone's thoughts, a combination of hers and mine, seen glimpses from both of our eyes.

And then I had to breathe, so I pulled away. That's sort of when common sense hit me like a battering ram.

I can't let her get attached to me. Because soon enough, she will be free, and I will be gone.

So I acted like a jerk. I pretended the kiss meant nothing, pretended I had just been caught up in the heat of the moment. And even though every second of it hurt me, she believed it. Now I'm leaning against the bathroom door, too tired to move much farther. I can sense her on the other side of it, but I can't see her.

I'm not sure why we're connected like this. I think it must be the way her inflicting and telepathy interact with my empathy. Previously, I thought this connection occurred because we were really close. But now. . . do her mutual feelings for me have anything to do with it?

My mind won't stop replaying the kiss. Over and over. Every single touch, every single second of it captured by my photographic memory. I will never forget the feeling of her body pressed against me, her lips on mine, my hands at her waist. Even thinking about it sends a thrill through me.

I want to kiss her again.

I want to break down this door and tell her it was all a lie, that I love her and have for the longest time.

I want to erase the past few minutes.

I want to hurt my mother, destroy the Neverseen.

Instead, I simply take a deep breath. In. Out. In. Out.

I can cope with this. I can deal with that look of pain on her face, that regret.

She opens the door, startling me.

"Hey," I say.

She smiles, bright and happy, as if the past few minutes never happened. I can see the look of sadness behind her eyes, though. It hurts.

"Hey," she replies.

"Listen," I start, guilt overcoming me. "I didn't mean to-"

"Keefe," she cuts me off. "I don't want to talk about it, okay? I. . . I realize my mistake, and if we could just ignore it, that would be nice."

I nod, although it makes me feel like a bastard. "That works. Sorry."

Sophie sighs, running a hand through her hair. "Me too, Keefe. Me too."